Thursday, October 24, 2013

After the fiasco that prompted the abrupt deletion of all my blog posts relating to our barn-into-house renovation, there is no background on what the heck is going on with this big project. Let's call that event D-Day (for Deletion Day, not for the WWII event, it wasn't THAT bad). I thought it would be a good idea to post something with some snapshots in time so that anyone who wasn't reading about what we are doing before D-Day could get some idea of what the heck is going on.

My original opening post on this blog went something like this:

Once upon a time there was a little barn. At one time this barn was the home of some cute and cuddly llamas, but they moved out many years ago.... blah, blah, blah. Pictures were included and the whole thing was cute and clever. I can't remember what all was said, though, and can't recreate the cuteness and cleverness that used to be.

The point is, the barn started out something like this, and we affectionately refer to it as "the llama barn" even though no animals have lived in it for going-on 15 years. These photos were taken after tons of demo-work had happened, but I can't find photos farther back at the moment.

Monday, October 21, 2013

After a several-month hiatus and moving to another blog where I just wasn't feeling it, I have decided to start blogging here again. The drama that sparked my move is behind me as much as it ever will be. After some changing of blog settings and blocking some people on Facebook so they cannot see my links, I have decided to return.

I hope that some of my original readers will find their way back here. I intend to begin updating about our house progress again along with adding in some other things I do. No, I am not a professional blogger. I will not have a million and one DIY projects and tutorials for you every month, but I will attempt to entertain you and maybe even teach you how to do a few things now and then. If I start to see more followers and higher stats, then I might consider spending more time and energy here, but for the time being, I am happy to see friends and family here to see what we are up to in our country life adventures.

So, if you are here and reading this, welcome (or welcome back)! If you like what you see and know someone else who would, too, please share a link to my blog with them. In the meantime, I am happy to see YOU (and I always will be)!

Friday, October 18, 2013

Today is "Sugar Shock Friday" at work. The university I work for has a United Way campaign every fall and departments can compete against each other for highest participation percentage and for highest dollar amount raised. Our first fundraiser this year involves food. Food is the way to people's participation (and wallets) in our department without a doubt.

This year I brought my almost-famous pumpkin cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting. I even put them in cute little jack-o-lantern cupcake wrappers. Within about 15 minutes of my arrival at work and putting out my little treats I had a couple requests for the recipe.

The recipe is written at the bottom of this post if you prefer a concise version. I will walk you though the steps first, though, for anyone who wants more details.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

For those of you keeping tabs on our house status, here is a text heavy update. Please forgive the state of the photos that are here...I wasn't thinking of public viewing when they were taken, I was just sharing updates with my mom.

All of the cedar we currently have is on the walls. We are waiting for more trees to be milled...I think we are waiting for the guy with the mill to have time for us.

The cabinet doors are finally on with the exception of the dummy drawers under the kitchen sink and the bathroom sink and one door that has to be made (the cabinet was built when we moved in because we didn't already have a second corner cabinet - we needed two). I want to turn one cabinet door around so it opens the other direction and I also need to put cabinet pulls on the doors, I already put on the drawer pulls. Just a little measuring and drilling and that will be finished. Once these things are complete the kitchen will be basically done except for the floor.

Were you born in a barn?

I am just someone who likes to share random things about my life. I like to blog about our huge remodeling project, furniture building, crafts, interior design, gardening, family, and anything else that strikes my fancy. I am a firm believer that with a little patience and practice I can do anything DIY. I hope that I can entertain you and maybe even inspire you to try something new.